Freshman Tracker: Zach Harrison Harasses Brian Lewerke and Garrett Wilson Continues To Make Catches

Facing a ranked Big Ten opponent, Ryan Day limited the play of his true freshmen.

Only three of the 17 newcomers saw action in the 34-10 win on Saturday night as Zach Harrison, Jameson Williams and Garrett Wilson continued their streak of playing in every game this season. 

Harrison took 14 defensive snaps and was credited with 2 tackles, 0.5 a tackle-for-loss and 0.5 a sack. He was very disruptive and flashed signs of his five-star talent. Harrison was paired with Chase Young for every play and the two dropped Michigan State quarterback Brian Lewerke at the 8:09 mark of the second quarter.

Harrison even played defensive tackle on Saturday night. Ohio State used a 3-4-4 defensive formation five times and Harrison was the man in the middle twice. Both times, he was flanked by Young and Tyreke Smith. The formation was successful as the Buckeyes forced a punt after forcing an incompletion towards the end of the first quarter. Baron Browning's 10-yard sack in the third quarter occurred the second time Harrison was the anchor of this three-man defensive line.

Garrett Wilson had an average night. With his 31 snaps on offense, he was able to haul in two passes for 24 yards and has now caught a pass in five consecutive games.

On the negative side, Wilson was flagged for a holding penalty that wiped out a run by Fields that would have put the ball inside the MSU five. Fortunately for Wilson, on the very next play, Fields threw a 21-yard strike to Luke Farrell for the team's second score of the game.

Wilson was also called upon to field punts, but he did not have the opportunity for a return. For the season, Wilson has two returns for 54 yards.

Another freshman who was utilized on special teams was the speedy Jameson Williams. The Cardinal Ritter College Prep (St. Louis) alum has played in every game this season.

Marcus Crowley, Harry Miller and Craig Young did not play for the first time this season. Crowley actually did lineup next to Fields for what was going to be the last play of the game, but a false start allowed Master Teague to re-enter the game and Crowley went back to the sideline.

Another note to be made is that ABC's coverage of the special teams was abysmal. There is a chance that Crowley or Young were on the field with one of the specialty units. Unfortunately, they were not spotted with the limited angles that were given. If you can confirm that Crowley and/or Young were on special teams coverage, please leave a note in the comments.

Under the NCAA's redshirt rules, a player can appear in up to four games at any point throughout the season and still count it as his redshirt year. In all, 13 freshmen have seen playing time this season, with six – Crowley, Harrison, Miller, Williams, Wilson and Young –  now ineligible for redshirts as they've appeared in more than four games.